I Editorial ___-■■■•- IBiimHiSffiMMi Bottled up When the Virginia

I

Editorial

___-■■■•- IBiimHiSffiMMi

Bottled up

When the Virginia State Senate voted last week to kill the 10-cent deposit on all beverage containers, it was probably just as well. There are pros and cons on both sides, and until those issues are more clearly delineated, we can’t support the deposit.

There is no doubt that a 10-cent deposit is good for our , roadsides and good for our landfills. The question, as we see it, is whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, particularly higher consumer costs and manufacturer - inconvenience.

The bill gathered only 12 supporting votes, making its fate in coming years not likely to be rosy. - While there are numerous reports about the success of bottle bills in cleaning up roadside litter in other states, we still have some doubts about the overall effectiveness of bottle r deposits. A question we ask is if the concept is so effective elsewhere, why have only 10 or 11 states adopted such programs?

Under State Sen. Madison Marye’s proposal, consumers would have paid a 10-cent deposit on each glass, plastic or metal container of soft drinks, beer and wine coolers. That comes to an additional $1.20 for each 12-pack purchased.

You would get your deposit back when you returned the - empties, but what retailer wants to shell out for returns at the check-out counter, mess with all those spent containers and provide a space for storage?

On the face of the proposal, localities would have : benefited from the funds remaining in the* state bottle deposit . kitty. Conceivably, localities might be less than enthusiastic about backing community recycling programs in conjunction ' with the overburdened retailers.

The bottle bill might have given recycling groups’ sails an ; extra puff of wind, or it might have been another millstone . around the consumer’s neck — we aren’t going to find out this : year.